Di Francesco set to sign Sassuolo extension despite Milan interest

Tottenham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo insisted Harry Kane is committed to Spurs and has nothing to prove after failing to secure a move away from the Premier League club.

After confirming he will not be leaving Tottenham this month, Kane marked his first start of the season with a brace as Spurs overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit by topping Pacos de Ferreira 3-0 en route to the inaugural Europa Conference League group stage.

Kane – under contract until June 2024 – had been tipped to join Premier League champions Manchester City, however, a transfer did not materialise.

Following his two-goal haul in London on Thursday, Nuno praised the star England international forward.

He s one of our own 

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

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Market: Lazio win

Odds: 10/11 @

Looking to make it back-to-back Europa League victories on Thursday evening, Lazio will make the trip to Denmark when they meet Midtjylland.

Starting with the hosts, while Midtjylland might have managed to secure themselves another European tour this season, the Wolves are in the midst of what has been a nightmare run of form. Opening up this year s Europa League campaign with a sluggish 1-0 loss away at Sturm Graz, it appears there is growing pressure on Albert Capellas shoulders. Mustering just 10 points from their opening nine Superliga showdowns, the Danish giants are some way off the pace. Failing to pick up any momentum over the weekend as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Nordsjælland, FCM have remarkably managed t…

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay admires derby-day hero Steven Caulker for opting to move from Tottenham to further his career.

The England international defender scored the only goal of the game on Sunday as Cardiff prevailed 1-0 against Swansea City in the first South Wales derby to take place in the top flight.

Caulker rose highest to nod home Craig Bellamy s corner in the 62nd minute, but there were no wild celebrations from the 21-year-old out of respect for a club that he spent a season on loan with in 2011-12.

Mackay has praised Caulker for deciding to leave London club Tottenham in July in search of regular first-team football at Cardiff, who are 12th in the Premier League following victory over Swansea.

I couldn t believe we actually got him, not for t…

Corinthians have raised their asking price for Alexandre Pato to €25million following his impressive displays on loan at Sao Paulo.

The Brazilian giants repatriated the striker who has scored 10 goals in 27 appearances for the national team  from AC Milan in 2013 for a fee of €15m.

However, Pato struggled to make a positive impact at Corinthians and was sent on loan to rivals Sao Paulo in 2014 until the end of the following year, subsequently delivering a string of positive performances.

Corinthians are currently in financial turmoil and had previously been looking for a fee in the region of €10m for the striker, but the club s the deputy director of football, Eduardo Ferreira, has now raised the price.

At the moment there are only enquiries.…

Gareth Southgate hopes Mason Mount and James Maddison will inject midfield creativity into his England squad.

Mount, 20, and Maddison have impressed for Chelsea and Leicester City during the opening weeks of this season and account for half of the uncapped players selected for the Three Lions Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo, along with Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Aston Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings.

Southgate helmed England s run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the Nations League Finals, an impressive feat undermined by his side lacking some cutting edge at the business end of the competitions.

Mount who has scored two in three matches for Chelsea on the back of impressive loan spells at Vitesse and Derby Coun…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not concerned by Bruno Fernandes waning impact in Manchester United s attack, believing his team-mates can profit from the midfielder s mere presence.

Fernandes has not provided a goal or an assist in his past three appearances in all competitions, each of which have seen United held to goalless draws.

Prior to his mini barren run, the Portugal international had averaged 3.8 shots and 2.9 chances created per 90 minutes, enjoying 83.4 touches, including 3.6 in the opposition box.

Over the three games since scoring and assisting against Newcastle United, he has averaged two shots and 2.8 chances per 90, touching the ball in the area at the same rate but seeing his overall involvement drop to 72.4 touches.

It is only a slight drop-of…

I wish he hadn’t become a manager

I always hesitate to criticise Diego Maradona because he was probably the best footballer I have seen in my lifetime. For that very reason he is a hero of mine and millions of others.

Flawed

Despite that, he is, at best, a flawed genius. We all know about his drug taking past and we have all wondered about his health both physical and mental. Since he was given the job of managing the Argentina national team he has done little to remove those worries.

The fact is that he has taken Argentina to the World Cup and has therefore achieved all that it has been possible for him to do. The reality is that he has not appeared to be up to the job and he is almost certainly not the right man to lead them in the finals.

Furiou…

West Brom defender Steven Reid has faced his hardest pre-season yet but is excited for his 11th successive Premier League campaign.

The former Republic of Ireland international has been with the club since 2010 and is viewed as a senior member in the club s squad due to his experience.

At 32, Reid is a seasoned professional used to the rigours of getting in shape ahead of a new season, although he has confessed that the years are catching up with him.

As you get on a little bit in years pre-season becomes tougher, said Reid.

This is the 17th full-time one I’ve done and it does become harder as the years go on.

For a lot of the older lads in the modern game you sort of tailor your pre-season a little bit.

Reid joined West Brom after spending seven …

Cesare Prandelli has a tough task to turn Valencia s fortunes around.

Valencia suffered defeat away to Sevilla in Saturday’s Spanish La Liga clash to end the weekend just two places and two points above the relegation zone.

Once again, Los Che find themselves struggling in the lower reaches in the table, having already changed managers early into the season, and many believe their top-flight status is genuinely at risk.

Valencia’s decline over the last 18 months

Valencia’s problems started after the 2014/15 season. The club had been selling their best players as a result of financial difficulties and things finally came to a head in 2015. The preceding years saw Valencia selling players such as David Villa, Juan Mata, David Silva, Jordi Alba, Rober…

Pep Guardiola feels Manchester City s 1-1 draw at Wolves offered a timely reminder of just how tricky it will be to retain their Premier League title.

Aymeric Laporte earned a point with his first City goal after Willy Boly struck first at Molineux, the opener standing despite replays showing the Wolves defender converted with his hand from an offside position.

Nevertheless, it was a superb performance from Nuno Espirito Santos men, who posed City plenty of problems even as the champions were denied by the woodwork on three occasions.

As his team observed the title race from a distance during his first season at the helm in 2016-17, former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola was often asked for his observations on how England s top flight provided spe…